


"What kind of name is 'Nico' anyway?"

by abucketfulloffeels



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 23:57:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5646472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abucketfulloffeels/pseuds/abucketfulloffeels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Other than ‘smiling’, it doesn’t really mean anything else right?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	"What kind of name is 'Nico' anyway?"

**Author's Note:**

> A short NicoMaki fic which I felt like writing (no explicit romance included though). It's my first Love Live! fic and I haven't been writing for a few months, so I hope it isn't too bad. The story alternates between Maki and Nico's POV, interspersed with dialogue. Enjoy!

 Maki’s first impression of Yazawa Nico was not the most flattering. Prior to entering  μ’s, which then only had the first and second years, Nico spent a considerable amount of time thwarting their plans and hating on the group. When she did eventually join μ’s, she immediately started brainwashing all of them to imitate her “high super idol standards”, doing things like “Nico-nico-nii!” and cute idol poses, which made Maki horribly uncomfortable. For a third year, Yazawa Nico was unbelievably child-like in her appearance, which was enhanced by her two pigtails with bright red ribbons. Her whole self-absorbed “Nico-nico-nii” idol persona was ridiculous too. Besides, what kind of name is ‘Nico’ anyway? Other than meaning something along the lines of smiling, it was an incredibly shallow name, Maki thought. Totally unlike  _ her _ name - with the first character representing purity and the second nobility - full of meaning.

~~~

 After the whole fiasco with the juniors in μ’s, Nico finally joined the group. Barring the fact that their idol standards were nowhere near hers in that point in time, they were generally pleasant to work with. Honoka, although clumsy, was always enthusiastic during practice; Umi was one of the most solid performers so far; Kotori was the most easygoing and had great idol aura; Rin and Hanayo were adorable and picked up her skills very quickly. And then there was Nishikino Maki. That redhead always seemed to have a resting annoyed expression (which is not good for an idol’s image!) and was the most reluctant to learn whenever Nico was training them to be more idol-like. For a while, Nico was wondering why someone as obstinate and un-idol-like as Maki even joined the group before Honoka told her that she was μ’s official music composer and vocal coach. Nico was enlightened a little upon finding out, but nonetheless, Maki was a tough nut to crack. What was with her arrogant, critical attitude? It did not help that her surname had three characters. For some reason, Nico never really liked people with three characters in their surname - it seems so pretentious and uppity.

* * *

 

Soon after, Nozomi and Eli joined, and μ’s was finally complete. However, Maki and Nico never really saw eye-to-eye on many issues. Almost everything Nico did was “gross” and “disgusting” to Maki, and whatever Maki said was “rude” and “no good” to Nico. Fortunately, with the timely intervention of the other seven members, their petty feuds were always settled.

 Not long into the formation of μ’s with all nine members, Nico realised that Maki was by herself more often than not in between practices. The second years were perpetually together, and while Rin and Hanayo were inseparable, Maki only hung around with them sometimes.

~~~

 Even with the recent addition of Nozomi and Eli, Maki observed that Nico was not exactly as close to them as they were to each other. Nico did talk to them quite often and always arrived for practice together with them if Nozomi and Eli did not come straight from the student council, but there was a special bond between the two which Nico failed to share.

~~~

 “Hey Maki-chan, you’re by yourself again?” Nico approached Maki one day during a practice break.

 “Mm.” Maki barely looked up from her phone.

 “Not hanging around with these two?” Nico motioned towards Rin and Hanayo.

 “They started discussing some inside joke of theirs, so I decided to leave them on their own.”

 “Okay…”

 “What about you, Nico-senpai? Why did you approach m-”

 “Geez, Maki-chan, drop the ‘senpai’ thing already! Didn’t Eli tell all you to stop doing so during that camp not too long ago?”

 “Ah sorry, I forgot,” Maki twirled her hair absentmindedly. “N...Nico…s-”

 “You can just call me Nico-nii!” Nico did her signature pose and winked.

 “Gross, no way am I calling you that.”

 “What do you suggest then? Nico-chan?”

 Maki shrugged. “...Nico-chan it is.”

* * *

 

 They say opposites attract, and although Maki and Nico consistently argued with each other, they started to spend more time together as time passed. At first it was just random conversations in between practice breaks, then it progressed to walking to practice together from their classes whenever they could, followed by eating lunch together (sometimes with Rin and Hanayo, sometimes just the two of them). Before they knew it, they were occasionally going out together after school and messaging each other privately. 

 Maki could not explain why she stuck around with Nico more often than the others. They did not even have similar interests - while Maki was passionate about all things Chopin, Schumann and Liszt, Nico was always up-to-date with the latest idol scoop. Maybe it was because she secretly found their arguments particularly stimulating and enjoyable. Maybe it was because there was something about Nico which made it so easy to have conversations with her. Maybe it was because just like her, Nico never seemed to like expressing her true feelings and Maki always wanted to find out more.

 The more Maki knew Nico, the less annoying she seemed. Her childlike features and voice were  _ kinda _ cute (sometimes, Maki insisted,  _ sometimes _ ), seeing her twintails swish from side to side when they were dancing made her heart flutter, and the “Nico-nico-nii” thing was not always that gross and actually  _ sort of _ charming.

 Then, not too long ago, μ’s discovered that Nico had three younger siblings, and to their chagrin (especially Maki’s), Nico somehow told them that the whole of μ’s was her backdancers, while she was “super idol Yazawa Nico”. 

 “I still think what Nico-chan told her siblings about us being her backdancers rude and deceitful,” Maki mentioned while the three first years were having a meal in between lessons one day.

 “While it might not have been very nice of Nico-chan, Rin doesn’t think she has ill intentions for doing so nya!” Rin quipped as she casually nipped a piece of fruit from Maki’s bento.

 “What do you mean?”

 “Well, as a big sister, Nico-chan must have been well-respected by her brother and sisters, so she must have felt a need to maintain that sort of image in order not to let them down,” Hanayo added.

 Maki pouted. “That doesn’t mean she deserves to tell such a lie to them!”

 “You probably won’t understand, Maki-chan, since you’re the only child in your family after all!” Rin said teasingly.

 Maki twirled her hair and remained silent. Maybe she did not understand. Anyway, it seemed like Nico really dotes on her siblings a lot. Her heart welled up with emotions at that thought. As much as she secretly saw Nico as a younger sister-like figure, she wanted Nico to dote on her like an older sister, yet she felt that their relationship was something more than just sisters.

~~~

 As Nico hung out with Maki more often, she started to realise that Maki was not a complete brat, and in fact quite cute. The way she subconsciously twirled her hair around her finger, the way she pouted whenever they were quarreling, the way she blushed whenever she was embarrassed and how the tip of her ears would turn red and stick out of her hair - all these were so uniquely Maki-chan and there were moments when Nico wanted to hug her tightly for just... _ being Maki _ .

 Just as Maki could not get any more adorable, the fact that Maki still believed in Santa dawned on μ’s during their trip to Maki’s family vacation home. Nico was  astounded .  _ That Maki-chan _ , who had an air of maturity beyond her age, who is able to compose μ’s songs by herself, who even helped Nico with her homework at times, was still living in the reality that Santa Claus brought Christmas presents for her. Heck, even Cocoro had already realised that Santa does not exist. 

* * *

 

 “Aww bummer,” Nico muttered under her breath when having lunch with Maki one day.

 “What is it?” Maki looked up.

 “I brought Cocoa’s bento to school by accident. Again.” Nico sighed as she opened the lunch box to reveal a couple of tiny rice balls and cute sausages in the shape of octopi.

 Maki smirked. “That must suck, eh?”

 “This is nothing compared to the time back in the last year of elementary school when my mother accidentally put Cocoro’s gym uniform in my bag. From then on I decided that I had to pack my own bag instead.”

 “That’s hilarious,” Maki chuckled. “Ahh, having many siblings must be interesting right, Nico-chan?”

_ “Right,” _ Nico thought.  _ “Maki’s an only child, so she has never felt what it’s like to be a sister.” _

 Sometimes, to Nico, the pure, innocent  side of Maki made her want to adopt Maki as a younger sister as her own. Wait, not just a sister, Nico never really saw Maki as a sister, but somehow she had this sense of possession over her.

 “Hey, Maki-chan?”

 “Yeah?”

 “Why is it that I’m the only one you use ‘-chan’ with? You never call the others “Rin-chan” or “Hanayo-chan” or whatever?”

 “Uehh...I...um... _ you _ were the one who asked me to call you Nico-chan!” Maki started to blush. “It’s nothing special!”

 “I was half-joking...and you actually followed through?”

 By then Maki’s ears were completely red. “How was I supposed to know you were joking?”

* * *

It was nightfall. After a day of hanging out, Maki and Nico lay on a field near Maki’s house, looking at the stars. Neither of them exchanged a word; the emptiness of silence between them was filled with each other’s presence.

 “Hey,” Maki whispered as she looked towards Nico.

 Under the faint starlight, Maki’s brilliant violet eyes glistened. To Nico, those eyes of hers were what made Maki captivating, and having those eyes look into her own made her heart stop for a moment.

 “Yes?”

 “What kind of name is ‘Nico’ anyway? Other than ‘smiling’, it doesn’t really mean anything else right?”

 “What do you mean, huh, Nishikino ‘my surname has three characters which sounds really pretentious’ Maki-san? What do you mean ‘it doesn’t really mean anything else’? How rude!” Nico sat up and glared.

 “Not like my parents could control what surname I got!  _ You’re _ the rude one!” Maki twisted a tuft of hair around her finger in indignation.

 And just like that, the two girls continued arguing all the way until they reached Maki’s house.


End file.
